U.S. moms make similar restaurant decisions

A recent study by Technomic and C3 Brand Marketing finds that regardless of ethnicity, moms are the most likely members of their families to make decisions on restaurant patronage.

Despite their diverse tastes, many share similar motivations and attitudes about food. “Today’s family has moved past a one-size-fits-all demographic,” says Jenny Ferguson, C3’s Director of Consumer Insights. But when selecting from the array of restaurant meals available for their families, mothers have similar reasons and make similar choices.

The recession has affected the decisions made by moms; 96% say they are spending more cautiously today, while 19% say they are struggling to make ends meet and 56% report managing their money more carefully.

The leading priorities for moms across all demographic groups are health and value. Just under one-quarter (24%) of all moms view health as their primary motivation, while 22% say value is the primary consideration when making foodservice choices.

Diverse attitudes and behaviors exist among Asian and Hispanic mothers based on the national origin of their family. For example, a mom whose family originated in China is less likely to use fast-food restaurants than a mom with family roots in most other Asian countries included in the survey.